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Car has been driving great, clutch feels good, no visible leaks ... I took it to an exhaust shop on Saturday and finally got my Miltek & 3" downpipes welded up .. sounds super quiet, almost too quiet
Exhaust is a bit crooked, I can't mount the exhaust hanger to my differential mount because the bolt heads are sheared from the PO - honestly, very far back on the priority list at this point lol.
Feeling confident in the car, I took it for a 100 mile drive on Sunday in the backroads of Julian pushing it quite a bit. It didn't hiccup right away .. but it did 58 miles from home.
After I got done with the drive, the plan was to head to my mom's house for Superbowl Sunday to spend the better half of the day with her.
I was 6 miles away from the house and did a quick 10 psi pull. Car blew the lower driverside intercooler hose off due to it being filled with oil ..
I was in a bit of a panic because, any oil on the compressor side generally means a failed internal turbo seal (turbo failure, basically). To avoid any further damage, I called for a tow.
My AAA membership is classic, so .. first 8 miles of the tow is free w/ $8 any additional mile. My house is 58 miles from where I broke down so ... I wasn't about to pay $400 to have my car towed all the way down south.
Car stayed at my mom's place for a few days until I got a much cheaper tow from a friend. $200 later, the broken whore is home.
The last 2 times I pulled the motor, I didn't have any oil in any of my inlets or intercoolers, completely dry.
The support / information I've received from Frankenturbo indicates I have a faulty PCV system - if the crankcase pressure is very high, the oil cannot drain / circulate properly which means it'll be pushed through the internal seal on the compressor side of the turbo and make it's way into the bottom of the inlets / intercoolers. A trace amount of oil is okay, but this is not a normal amount of oil ... let alone after 100ish miles.
The PCV system & vacuum line assembly has been redone and the system hasn't changed since the 3rd time the motor was out... I'm kind of fearing the worse but need to check everything before I pursue any kind of warranty work.
I plan on tearing into it tomorrow and seeing what's what ...
This car is the epitome of a love & hate relationship.
You bring up a good point ... I'm ready for this car to be relatively issue free. I'm only continuing with this project because unlike any Honda, this car actually makes torque ... a lot of it.
Oh man that blows, no pun intended. I know on my MS6 the PVC would get caked with oil and trip the CEL which then would require a good cleaning, but this sounds like a lot more than that. Love hate sounds right. Hang in there. All this hate will surely evolve into love when it’s running right and reliable.
At the risk of being a naysayer...
I am gonna say it.
I hope you get this sorted and list it for sale.
I know you put so much money into it but at this point I want your marriage and your sanity over a fast car.
There's a reason B5 Stage III's end up listed for sale after all that heartache, blood sweat and tears.
That said, the car looks awesome and I'm sure drives absolutely amazingly.
You bring up a good point ... I'm ready for this car to be relatively issue free. I'm only continuing with this project because unlike any Honda, this car actually makes torque ... a lot of it.
Yeah, I know and experienced it first hand even before the mods...but at what cost lol.
It's definitely a fun adventure but issue after issue just stops being fun after a while. If you still enjoy it then by all means continue working on it but I would have given up a long time ago so kudos to you haha.
Right after I loaded the tune on my A4 2.0T I had an intercooler hose blow off. Lucky for me I was close to where we loaded the tune on. The PVC Valve was clogged with oil and sludge and caused the whole thing. Took off both intercoolers, de-oiled them both, new PVC Valve and the plate that screws into the valve cover.Not a problem since...been about 30k miles ago.
Yeah, I know and experienced it first hand even before the mods...but at what cost lol.
It's definitely a fun adventure but issue after issue just stops being fun after a while. If you still enjoy it then by all means continue working on it but I would have given up a long time ago so kudos to you haha.
Right after I loaded the tune on my A4 2.0T I had an intercooler hose blow off. Lucky for me I was close to where we loaded the tune on. The PVC Valve was clogged with oil and sludge and caused the whole thing. Took off both intercoolers, de-oiled them both, new PVC Valve and the plate that screws into the valve cover.Not a problem since...been about 30k miles ago.
that's a pretty good anecdote/data point to calm the nerves Tyler!
At the risk of being a naysayer...
I am gonna say it.
I hope you get this sorted and list it for sale.
I know you put so much money into it but at this point I want your marriage and your sanity over a fast car.
There's a reason B5 Stage III's end up listed for sale after all that heartache, blood sweat and tears.
That said, the car looks awesome and I'm sure drives absolutely amazingly.
At the risk of being a naysayer...
I am gonna say it.
I hope you get this sorted and list it for sale.
I know you put so much money into it but at this point I want your marriage and your sanity over a fast car.
There's a reason B5 Stage III's end up listed for sale after all that heartache, blood sweat and tears.
That said, the car looks awesome and I'm sure drives absolutely amazingly.
hey hey hey...one is listed for sale!
Sam, no...just recall when I bought the car it seemed to drive very nicely down low...around town, no heat soak. Decided to put the oem intake back on and see if it was that...x brace was in the way and not stock so i removed that too.
Yesterday, I decided to start the car in it's troubled state and make some observations.
The information & research were bang on .. I had a ton of crankcase pressure. I removed the oil cap while the car was running and there was definitely air coming out which means, the PCV system is either clogged / failed all together.
I removed every single PCV check valve & the entire rear vacuum hose system and cleaned it thoroughly with water / brake cleaner combo. After re-installation, not nearly as much air was coming out before.
Good news is - I've driven the car around 50 miles .. no smoking and less hesitation (less oil making it through the turbos / intake system). I will report back in another 100 miles to see if any large amounts of oil in the inlets.
It's a waiting game now.
Originally Posted by CCColtsicehockey
Just finished reading the next page. Damn man sorry to hear that. Hopefully it doesn't end up being major.
Thanks Jason, I'm hoping not .. but only time will tell.
Situation is looking better than it was before.
Originally Posted by SuperTrooper169
Oh man that blows, no pun intended. I know on my MS6 the PVC would get caked with oil and trip the CEL which then would require a good cleaning, but this sounds like a lot more than that. Love hate sounds right. Hang in there. All this hate will surely evolve into love when it’s running right and reliable.
It's crazy how fast it feels at 15psi compared to my smaller K03 turbos .. it's really the only thing motivating me to keep moving forward.
Originally Posted by rockstar143
At the risk of being a naysayer...
I am gonna say it.
I hope you get this sorted and list it for sale.
I know you put so much money into it but at this point I want your marriage and your sanity over a fast car.
There's a reason B5 Stage III's end up listed for sale after all that heartache, blood sweat and tears.
That said, the car looks awesome and I'm sure drives absolutely amazingly.
Naysayer!
I appreciate your feedback, as always.
The wifey and I are doing great right now (despite the bad news with the car), I just need to be more strategic on when I work on the car and how often. I think I got so wrapped up in getting this car built I kinda forgot the important things .. mistakes were made, but overall .. I'm improving
As for the car, I feel I'm almost out of the woods ... it's too far along to give up now.
Originally Posted by SamDoe1
Yeah, I know and experienced it first hand even before the mods...but at what cost lol.
It's definitely a fun adventure but issue after issue just stops being fun after a while. If you still enjoy it then by all means continue working on it but I would have given up a long time ago so kudos to you haha.
Yeah ... I'm too committed to just abandon the project. I haven't even gotten to enjoy the fruits of my labor yet ...
Originally Posted by 1killercls
Right after I loaded the tune on my A4 2.0T I had an intercooler hose blow off. Lucky for me I was close to where we loaded the tune on. The PVC Valve was clogged with oil and sludge and caused the whole thing. Took off both intercoolers, de-oiled them both, new PVC Valve and the plate that screws into the valve cover.Not a problem since...been about 30k miles ago.
Bang on.
My car has roughly 132,000 on it now .. wouldn't surprise me if sludge / build-up caused it to fail.
Part of me thinks it's highly suspect that it all of the sudden started happening since I didn't have any issues on the 1st / 2nd motor pull.
Originally Posted by thoiboi
that's a pretty good anecdote/data point to calm the nerves Tyler!
hey hey hey...one is listed for sale!
Sam, no...just recall when I bought the car it seemed to drive very nicely down low...around town, no heat soak. Decided to put the oem intake back on and see if it was that...x brace was in the way and not stock so i removed that too.
you want an old car to own you!?!?
LOL...
I'm just kidding...if 10psi made you giggle, 25 will make you ejacumate.
Looking forward to you figuring this little hurdle out.
Glad to hear you and the wife are on the same page, my friend.
you want an old car to own you!?!?
LOL...
I'm just kidding...if 10psi made you giggle, 25 will make you ejacumate.
Looking forward to you figuring this little hurdle out.
Glad to hear you and the wife are on the same page, my friend.
I do appreciate your concern though, that's what makes you a great friend.
You bring up a good point ... I'm ready for this car to be relatively issue free. I'm only continuing with this project because unlike any Honda, this car actually makes torque ... a lot of it.
As B5 S4s go, their reputation serves as anything but reliable and it's certainly a car you buy with your heart and not your wallet. I've wanted one for as long as I can remember and this one was too clean to pass up.
Quoted from your original post. You knew going into this project that it was going to give you problems. You seem to be in good spirits after everything you've been though with this car when most people would thrown in the towel. Keep at it, the car is almost finished.
Quoted from your original post. You knew going into this project that it was going to give you problems. You seem to be in good spirits after everything you've been though with this car when most people would thrown in the towel. Keep at it, the car is almost finished.
02-07-2018, 03:08 PM
there is still hope
